Podcasts about ecommerce

Resale is forcing brands to rethink product design, pricing, and customer acquisition from the ground up. Ryan Rowe (Archive) and Alison Buchanan (Lululemon) join Brian and Alicia to unpack how lululemon's Like New evolved from a sustainability pilot into a meaningful commercial channel. We unpack messy reverse logistics, the AI agents now quietly running warehouse decisions, and the organizational vision required to make circular commerce work across a vertically structured enterprise. When the Future of Commerce Is Circular, Every Brand Is A Secondhand Brand Key takeaways: Resale has shifted from a sustainability gesture to a commercial channel with P&L accountability. Branded resale wins where third-party marketplaces can't: data integrity, trust, and brand language. Like New must operate to tackle a fundamentally different eCommerce problem — one-of-one inventory breaks mainline systems. AI is moving from assisting warehouse operators to serving as autonomous agents that optimize pricing and routing. Circular commerce is an acquisition engine; roughly half of resale shoppers are new to the lululemon brand. Key quotes: [02:41] "It's a very technical problem. It's a large-scale platform problem that touches virtually every piece of a brand's business." — Ryan Rowe [06:12] "Commerce is, is obviously just a space that we are starting to realize is a strong commercial lever… Like New for our business is really sitting at this intersection of business and impact." — Alison Buchanan [08:40] "Resale of lululemon was happening at scale already all around us. And it was either let it happen without us… or uphold our brand standards." — Alison Buchanan [26:26] "A lot of customers are actually trying brands for the first time with a used item… because it's a way for them to test things like fit and material and quality at a much lower barrier to entry." — Ryan Rowe In-Show Mentions: Archive Like New by Lululemon Associated Links: Check out Future Commerce on YouTube Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Angela Clark, the Founder of Eclipse Advisory Group, adds her page to the Marketing Playbook. Hear how to invite yourself to meetings and keep showing up, how to find out what the customer isn't tired of hearing you say, how to get your team to actually use that new technology you paid for, what Angela learned going to an all-girls high school, and why storytelling is so crucial in the eCommerce world. Connect with Angela at EclipseMedia365.com and on LinkedIn

Salesforce renamed Commerce Cloud to Agentforce Commerce and calls this its biggest release in years. Rebrand, or substance? Nitin Mangtani makes the case.Every enterprise vendor is bolting "agentic" onto its roadmap this year. Salesforce went further and renamed the whole product. Nitin Mangtani, who runs Commerce and Retail Cloud, came on to defend the release line by line.We get into Storefront Next, the new storefront meant to serve both the merchant who wants clicks and prompts out of the box and the developer writing code with AI-native tools. The agentic layer: a search engine built on shopper intent instead of keywords, native chat, a ChatGPT catalog integration going live in June, and a shopper agent that's supposed to behave like the associate you'd get in a good store. The B2B story the B2C headlines tend to bury, including round-trip quoting, multicart, and a buying flow that runs on WhatsApp. And modern POS, where the bet is that systems nobody has rethought in twenty years are finally worth rebuilding.Nitin came in through the PredictSpring acquisition two years ago and ran Google's shopping team back in the early 2000s, so he's watched the discovery layer move before. His line throughout: technology for its own sake is worthless. Tie it to ROI and a better customer experience, or don't ship it.So I pushed on the question every merchant on the platform is actually asking. Hear Agentforce Commerce, Storefront Next, and a ChatGPT integration in the same week, and what changes for you, and how soon? Listen and decide whether the rebrand earns the airtime.The Watson Weekly interview is sponsored by Avalara - the agentic AI platform automating global tax and compliance for leading eCommerce brands. For more details: https://avalaratax.watsonweekly.com.

Dr. Jason Wersland turned a 3 a.m. garage experiment into the number one percussive therapy brand in the world, with more than 6.5 million Theragun massage devices sold. In this episode, he breaks down the unglamorous eight-year grind behind that overnight success: five prototypes, three bad partners, and a one-to-one credibility-building strategy that eventually landed him in Cristiano Ronaldo''s training room. For more on Therabody and show notes click here   Subscribe and watch Shopify Masters on YouTube!Sign up for your FREE Shopify Trial here.

Episode 304 reunites The Analysts — Remarkable Retail's celebrated panel of Forrester's Sucharita Kodali, Guggenheim's Simeon Siegel, and GlobalData's Neil Saunders — to take stock of retail coming out of earnings season. Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc open on the paradox of 2026: results are largely strong, sentiment is dismal. Simeon argues the link between the two is "tenuous at best" — people talk one way and spend another. Neil has the data: roughly 60% of shoppers who expect the economy to worsen still spent more than a year ago, propped up by spring tax refunds that won't repeat. Then the K-shaped economy. Higher-income households drive most of the real volume growth; middle-income shoppers prop up value growth mainly because prices are higher. Sucharita revisits "peak ambiguity" and the "vibe session," noting record sales barely outrun stubborn inflation. The panel unpacks the standouts — Ross's 17% comp, Victoria's Secret up 15% — and debates GLP-1's role in surging apparel and beauty: wardrobe replacement, new confidence, trading up to statement pieces. On turnarounds, Simeon lands the episode's sharpest thesis: brands "ubiquitize" and peak around $3–4 billion in the US. Lululemon got too big, over-distributed, and over-earning — so the bad sales have to "walk out the door" before the brand can re-elevate, the same lens that frames Nike's long reset. He and Sucharita draw the Gap parallel ahead of Simeon's on-stage interview with Mickey Drexler, noting Old Navy now dwarfs Gap itself. Neil makes the case for Macy's under Tony Spring — basics fixed first, satisfaction and visitation improving — while Steve stays skeptical of the pace. Next, the DTC reckoning. Simeon reframes his old "DTC is not all it's cracked up to be" call as "anti-anti-wholesale": outside high-margin luxury, nearly every brand needs a healthy wholesale business — and stores remain the best channel because "the customer is your employee." Sucharita pushes back on the AI narrative, reminding everyone it's far more than generative hype, as the panel digs into why scaled players — Amazon, Walmart, Costco, off-price — keep compounding through retail media, marketplaces, and flywheel economics. It closes on the wealth effect, trillion-dollar market caps, and whether a market correction could rattle high-end spending — then rapid-fire hot takes: brands to watch (Cozey, Ross Stores, Goyard) and what's on each analyst's radar, from inflation and surging oil prices to a quiet "middle of the doughnut" news lull and an election year's hunt for stability. Join us at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York June 23rd and 24th with this exclusive discount code for 10% off general admission tickets and FREE retail tickets: Your code is "REMARKABLE" . See you in the Big Apple! About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

You're halfway through 2026, and what you do this quarter decides whether Q4 feels calm and profitable or like a three-month scramble. Q3 is the most important planning window of your whole year, and most store owners spend it on the wrong things. Inside, the 6 moves actually worth your time for the back half of 2026: what to double down on now, and what to drop so you have room to do it. Plus the one question you can run every task through to know instantly whether it deserves your time between now and December. In this episode: The move with a closing window. Wait until fall and you've already missed it. The website leak that's quietly costing you on every visitor, and why it gets way more expensive once holiday traffic hits. The Q4 prep work that has to happen now in the summer, not in November. The mid-year number most store owners get proud of, while their profit quietly disappears. The one filter question that decides where your time goes for the rest of the year. _______ Full Episode Show Notes http://ecommercebadassery.com/381   _______ Learn With Me Work with Me 1:1 https://ecommercebadassery.com/ecommerce-help/ https://ecommercebadassery.com/email-marketing/   Courses & Membership https://ecommercebadassery.com/membership https://ecommercebadassery.com/programs   _______   Let's Connect Website: http://ecommercebadassery.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecommercebadassery Membership: http://ecommercebadassery.com/membership   _______   Rate, Review, & Subscribe Like what you heard? I'd be forever grateful if you'd rate, review and subscribe to the show! Not only does it help your fellow eCommerce entrepreneurs find the eCommerce Badassery podcast; but it's also valuable feedback for me to continue bringing you the content you want to hear.    Review Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ecommerce-badassery/id1507457683      

Andreas Rotenberg is Co-founder and COO of Pulley, an AI-powered permitting platform helping developers and operators move projects through approvals faster. Before Pulley, he was part of the team at Honest Buildings through its acquisition, then served as Chief of Staff at Procore through its IPO. Pulley has supported over $15 billion in projects approved across the U.S. Live from ICSC+Proptech in Las Vegas.(0:00) - First ever ICSC+Proptech live podcast(1:47) - Why Permitting Is a Growing Bottleneck(2:41) - What's Happening During Permitting Timelines(4:13) - Jurisdictional Complexity Across the U.S.(5:08) - What CRE Teams Underestimate About Permitting(7:35) - Why Pulley(8:18) - The Origin Story(10:53) - Combining Technology with Local Expertise(14:26) - Where AI Creates Real Value in Permitting(17:36) - Trust, Hallucinations & Accuracy(19:07) - Municipalities & Public Sector Modernization(20:40) - Second & Third Order Effects of Faster Permitting(22:41) - Collaboration Superpower: Vaclav Smil

Markets are digesting all the hyperscaler spending on the AI buildout, says Arun Sundaram, pointing to Amazon's (AMZN) $200 billion CapEx goal as something for investors to watch. However, the Mag 7 giant's fastest-growing tech businesses are also the most profitable. Arun highlights strengths he sees for the company's growth, including Amazon Leo and ways it serves as a competitor to SpaceX's (SPCX) Starlink. Tom White offers an example options trade for Amazon's stock. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Before trading, read the Options Disclosure Document. http://bit.ly/2v9tH6DSubscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

In this episode, Laura Cantor shares key takeaways from her experience at Vendors in Partnership, including emerging trends in retail, the growing importance of meaningful partnerships, and how brands can cut through the noise in a tech-saturated landscape.  She dives into why people—and the partnerships they build—are still the foundation of innovation and growth, even as AI continues to transform the industry.  Laura also highlights tactical approaches that are driving real results today, including insights on high-impact ecommerce solutions like AfterSell, a platform helping brands maximize revenue through post-purchase optimization.  In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:00] Intro [02:38] Learning the value of brand building [06:20] Sponsor: Migrate [08:19] Prioritizing learning over job titles [12:46] Sponsor: Intelligems [14:46] Overcoming organizational status quo [17:08] Streamlining operations for future tech [21:06] Sponsor: Electric eye [22:14] Optimizing brands for agentic AI search [23:43] Monetizing traffic through retail networks [25:34] Callouts [25:44] Leveraging partnerships for mutual wins [28:00] Emphasizing human strategy alongside AI  Resources: Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube Women's apparel specialty retailer nyandcompany.com/ Follow Laura Cantor linkedin.com/in/lauracantor/ Migrate and grow more klaviyo.com/honest Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

In Asien ist Live-Commerce längst ein Milliardenmarkt – in Europa winken viele Händler:innen noch ab: schon dreimal gehypt, schon dreimal verpufft. Dabei zeigt der Blick nach Osten, wie aus Livestreams echtes Geschäft wird – bis hin zur Rolex, die bei einem Euro startet und für 90.000 Euro den Besitzer wechselt. Saskia Meier-Andrae, Deutschland-Chefin von eBay, baut Live-Shopping gerade mit voller Wucht auf. Tech-Blogger Sascha Pallenberg ordnet aus Taiwan ein, was in den asiatischen Märkten wirklich abgeht. Gemeinsam übersetzen sie die Mechaniken für den deutschen Markt. Wir sprechen darüber, warum Vertrauen, Community und Entertainment zusammenkommen müssen, wieso die Nische der eigentliche Hebel ist, wie Programmdichte und feste Sendeplätze funktionieren – und warum das klassische Shopping-TV gerade in den Sonnenuntergang reitet. Du erfährst... ...wie asiatische Live-Commerce-Strategien den deutschen Markt revolutionieren. ...welche Rolle Vertrauen und Community im erfolgreichen Live-Shopping spielen. ...warum eBay auf Nischenmärkte und authentische Interaktion setzt. __________________________ ||||| PERSONEN |||||

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupOrigin owns its entire supply chain. The thread, the brass, the leather, the denim, all of it made or sourced in America, in their own factories. That sounds like a constraint. Justin Parker explains why it is actually the brand's biggest growth lever.Justin runs e-commerce at Origin, the American-made apparel brand born in jiu-jitsu gear and now backed in part by Jocko Willink. He sits at the intersection of marketing, ops, and manufacturing, and that vantage point is exactly what makes the AI stack so powerful for him.What you will learn:How owning manufacturing let Origin pull a planned-for-June product into the line overnight when a hoodie went viral in JanuaryWhy Origin uploaded its 20-page production tech packs into Moby, and how that turned a marketing tool into something that diagnoses manufacturing defectsHow they run 100% internal media buying through an agentic media buyer, and the one question Justin asks it: "what in your context made you decide to pause this ad?"Why branded search spend got flagged as non-incremental, and how goal-setting changes what the AI doesHow the e-commerce team stopped hiring internally while the rest of the business keeps net hiringWhere Justin thinks the role is going next: agent orchestration and one centralized goal pushed down to every business unitWho this is for: DTC founders and operators, e-commerce and growth leads, anyone figuring out how to actually deploy AI agents inside a real business.What to steal: Justin's approach to context loading. The output you get from any AI tool is capped by the context you feed it. He spent an afternoon uploading product blueprints one PDF at a time, and it changed what the tool could do.Timestamps:0:00 Origin's Unexpected Maduro Viral Moment2:01 Building an American-Made Supply Chain7:00 Pricing Premium Products in a Competitive Market15:02 How Vertical Integration Creates a Growth Advantage22:18 Inside Moby AI and Agentic Media BuyingSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

In Time for Learning sucht dein Host Nawid Company das Gespräch mit anderen Branchenexperten. Hier erfährst du, wie es im Affiliate Bereich wirklich läuft und was die neusten Trends sind. Machst du also bereits Affiliate Marketing und arbeitest in dem Bereich, bist Merchant und betreibst deinen eigenen Online-Shop oder möchtest dich einfach weiterbilden, dann bist du hier genau richtig. Im ersten Teil der heutigen Folge "Time for Learning" sprechen Nawid Company und sein Experten-Gast Oliver Seidel, CEO von Consults.de, über die rasante Entwicklung von KI-Agenten wie Claude Code und wie Unternehmen den Schritt von ersten Experimenten zu einer sicheren, kontrollierten KI-Strategie schaffen. Dabei geht es um Sicherheitsframeworks, Kontrollmechanismen und die veränderte Rolle vom Entwickler zum "KI-Teamleader". Heute geht es um folgende Themen: - ChatGPT / OpenAI - Claude / Claude Code/ Anthropic - Cloud-Abo-Modelle - Goldgräberstimmung KI - KI-Halluzination / "Confident AI" - Kontrollmechanismen - Rechenzentren / KI-Infrastruktur

Dominique Moretti rebuilt the I.AM.GIA website from scratch in 12 weeks. Open rates sit above 50%. The re-engagement flow beats the welcome flow. And 90% of I.AM.GIA's revenue comes from the US. This is how she runs two global fashion brands with one lean team.Dom is Head of Ecommerce and Digital at A&S Labels, the Melbourne company behind Tiger Mist and I.AM.GIA. She started there as a graphic design intern twelve years ago, grew with the business, left for a stint at Calibre, and came back in a bigger role. She's also a Klaviyo Champion 2026. Nathan sat down with her at K:SYD in Sydney before the doors opened, the third of three conversations recorded there.Today, we're discussing:How Dom scrapped an I.AM.GIA website project mid-build, changed agencies and rebuilt in 12 weeks [12:09]Why she moved from headless to Shopify Native and what drove that decision [13:13]The re-engagement flow with no discount that's now outperforming the welcome flow [28:33]How to maintain 50-60% open rates for two fashion brands in 2026 [30:46]The app strategy: push notifications, Tapcart AI flows, and why apps beat SMS long-term [00:00]What TikTok Shop in the US actually requires in terms of product data, SLAs and live consistency [43:09]How Dom is using Claude and Klaviyo MCP for weekly reporting across all channels [37:29]Use the code ADDTOCART20 for 20% off storewide at tigermist.com.au and iamgia.com (excludes EV x TM Collection).Connect with Dominique Moretti | Explore Tiger Mist | Explore I.AM.GIA Subscribe to the Add To Cart newsletter  SMS us to Suggest a Guest Connect with Nathan Bush Join the Add To Cart Community 

Is YouTube the most underrated paid channel for eCommerce brands right now? In this episode, I sit down with Brett Curry, founder of OMG Commerce, to break down exactly how seven- and eight-figure brands should be thinking about YouTube ads. Brett has been running YouTube campaigns for top D2C brands for years, and he reveals why YouTube looks terrible in most reporting tools… and why it's still absolutely worth the investment. Listen in as Brett goes deeper on what a winning YouTube ad actually looks like, why the homepage often outperforms the product page for cold traffic, and how creative fatigue on YouTube compares to Meta. You'll also hear his takes on Google Shopping and Amazon in 2026, why branded search spend may be costing you more than it's worth, and how OMG uses geo holdouts and incrementality testing to prove what's actually working and not just what looks good on a dashboard.  You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/4sufbwdk  Interested in our Private Community for 7-Figure Store Owners? Learn more here.  

RJ Talyor is the Founder and CEO of Backstroke a AI for eCommerce generative content platform for email marketers. Instantly create on-brand, high-performing email subject lines, preview text, mobile push notifications, and SMS messages.Summary of PodcastPodcast introduction and guest backgroundGraham and Kevin introduce the Next 100 Days Podcast and welcome RJ Talyor from Indianapolis. RJ describes Indianapolis as offering the best of a big city with a small-city feel, with about a million people, great sports, culture, food, and good cost of living. He has traveled extensively but always enjoys returning home.Backstroke's AI email generation platformRJ introduces Backstroke.com, which generates performant email campaigns for e-commerce retailers selling clothes, pet food, furniture, and other products online and in-store. E-commerce brands typically expect 20-50% of revenue from email marketing while sending 3-5+ emails weekly, with customers spending 8-12 hours per campaign. Backstroke reduces this to approximately 15 minutes while personalising content so each customer receives a different message tailored to their interests and behaviour.Personalisation through data and engagement Backstroke personalises emails using multiple data layers: subscriber status, past engagement (opens, clicks, conversions), and appended third-party data revealing demographics like age, location, and gender. When additional data is unavailable, the platform uses progressive profiling—analysing engagement patterns to infer preferences. For example, if a customer consistently clicks on men's content over women's content, or prefers dark-coloured shirts over light ones, AI identifies these patterns to drive personalisation, which is more effective than manual analysis.Real-world personalisation: from negative to advocateGraham shares a personal story about Son of a Tailor, a Portuguese apparel brand, where his initial experience was poor—they sent him a shirt too short for his frame. However, the company responded exceptionally well, ultimately creating a monogrammed, high-quality shirt that transformed him into an advocate. RJ explains this is valuable data: AI can flag customers who experienced negative-to-positive journeys as potential super-fans or loyalty advocates, a pattern most marketers miss because they lack time to identify such nuanced customer experiences.AI pattern recognition beyond traditional metricsTraditional RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) models reduce customers to transactional data, but AI can extract signal from unstructured data to identify complex patterns. For instance, AI can recognize when a customer buys different sizes (suggesting purchases for others) or when multiple preferences exist within one account—like RJ's Spotify feed where his children's music preferences mix with his own. AI discerns these overlapping patterns that aren't immediately obvious to humans, enabling more sophisticated segmentation.Team expertise and company historyRJ co-founded Backstroke with his wife Allison, who holds a PhD in deep data analysis and chemical reagents, bringing statistical rigour and predictive modelling expertise. RJ's background includes starting Pattern89 in 2016, an AI company predicting Instagram and Facebook clicks using computer vision and natural language processing, which he sold to Shutterstock. Many Pattern89 team members joined Backstroke, bringing 10 years of AI-based marketing experience, while the team continuously innovates with new foundational models from Anthropic and OpenAI.Implementation results and Surge featureBackstroke achieves an average 30% uplift in conversion rates for new clients. Implementation typically takes about a month for full transformation, but recognising customer demand for faster results, the company launched "Surge," enabling campaigns to launch in 48 hours. This rapid-deployment feature demonstrates predictive capabilities quickly, satisfying customers who want immediate proof before committing to full onboarding.Email variants and human approval at scaleWhile technically capable of generating 10,000+ unique email variants, Backstroke has found that customers require human review of every variant version. Current implementations range from 60-100 variants, with combinations of hero images, subject lines, and templates creating exponential possibilities. The company is building QA agents to enable scaling to millions of variants while maintaining human oversight, recognizing that creative teams ultimately bear responsibility for brand representation.Brand guidelines versus performance metricsA fundamental tension exists between brand teams (who enforce guidelines like "models must face forward" or "only use this colour") and performance marketers (who know "shirts perform better laid on a bed than on a human"). RJ explains this is often gut-feel decision-making based on outdated tests—teams cite tests from a year ago by employees who've since left, creating stale guidelines. AI enables rapid testing of creative variations to identify incremental opportunities, but requires organisational willingness to experiment beyond established brand rules.Customer selection philosophyRather than trying to convince resistant customers to embrace AI, RJ focuses on the "one in 10" truly innovative marketers willing to change. He learned from his previous business that most prospects claim interest but quickly reveal organizational barriers requiring approvals. His strategy is to identify customers genuinely committed to transformation and willing to pay, directing others to resources instead. This approach conserves energy for high-potential partnerships where AI can deliver real impact.Backstroke's core value propositionBackstroke solves the "what" problem: what content, subject line, preview, template, hero image, product display, and offer to send to each person. The platform knows that 46% of clicks occur in the first 400 pixels, so it optimizes that space differently for men versus women, loyal customers versus new ones, and geographic regions. This focused specialization on content optimization is Backstroke's primary value, distinct from solving "when" (send time) or "who" (segmentation) problems.Practical tips for email marketersFor marketers using standard LLMs without specialised platforms, RJ recommends uploading all previous email data and creative assets, then asking the machine to identify winning creative dimensions. This approach reveals patterns in subject lines, imagery, copy length, and offers without requiring subscriber-level analysis, enabling better-than-average results for those without access to specialised tools.Email frequency paradox and engagementKevin raises frustration with receiving excessive emails from companies he likes, asking if AI can enable sending less email while achieving better results. RJ explains that higher engagement with personalised content could theoretically reduce frequency, but email is fundamentally a frequency game—brands send multiple emails weekly to stay top-of-inbox when customers are ready to buy. However, deliverability depends on engagement (opens, clicks), so sending irrelevant content backfires. Backstroke solves the "what" problem, but send-time optimisation and segmentation (the "when" and "who") remain separate challenges.Market focus and customer examples Backstroke focuses exclusively on B2C e-commerce in North America due to language complexity and GDPR privacy requirements in Europe. The platform serves impulse-purchase categories (apparel, furniture, bedding) differently than considered purchases (mattresses, cars), with separate trained models for each. Notable customers include Third Love (women's intimates), Cozy Earth (bedding), Helix (mattresses), and Emile Henry (cookware), representing the apparel and home goods verticals where Backstroke has developed deep expertise.Future roadmap: predictive marketing agentsRJ's 18-month roadmap focuses on building predictive marketing agents that complete marketing tasks generatively while humans serve as brand stewards and strategists. This vision extends beyond email to SMS, apps, and landing pages, with personalisation as a core feature. Graham notes the challenge of making such systems intuitive enough for non-technical users, reflecting the broader industry shift toward AI-augmented rather than AI-replaced marketing roles.European expansion and compliance strategyWhile Backstroke is currently North America-focused, RJ is open to European partnerships but wants to be proactive about compliance. GDPR itself isn't a blocker, but European customers require security documentation and certifications that Backstroke hasn't yet obtained. The company recently achieved SOC 2 compliance (required by enterprise businesses) and plans to secure necessary privacy certifications before entering European markets, avoiding disqualification during sales cycles.Podcast analysis and key takeawaysIn the wrap-up, RJ praises the podcast for getting past fluff into real marketing challenges, appreciating the nitty-gritty discussion of how marketers actually work. Graham and Kevin reflect that the conversation revealed AI's potential to solve the "what" problem while highlighting remaining challenges in "when" and "who" decisions. They note that Kevin's observation about sending less email...

Is retail dead? It appears that way but considering 80% of sales still happen in retail stores, what gives? Ecommerce and marketplaces like Amazon have provided an amazing convenience factor, changing how consumers shop. This has taken business from brick & mortar retailers but not without a fight. BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In Store) has emerged as a way to provide convenience while leveraging selection. Walmart, Target, Kroger, and many other larger retailers have enabled this to keep pace. But more is still desired. Al Schuster, President of Polaris Brand Promotions, joins us on this episode to make the case for why retailers need to make their stores experiential if they want to retain their customer base. It's not just samples but creating experiences that invite people in and engage them in a way that retailers just don't seem to be leveraging currently. Grab a sample, or 5, and press play.What they coverRetail is always changing but the changes have been more dramatic in the past 20 years with Amazon entering the marketing and now rapid tech advances at stores.In store engagement is challenging right now due to stores providing better tech enablement, i.e. ordering on apps or at touch screens instead of from a live human.Retail stores control the environment in the store but since consumers aren't shopping as much in stores or even in the same way, brands need to think long and hard about their investment in these stores and what that looks like to get the best ROI.Ecommerce has a way of taking the shopping out of shopping. Think signage, music, looking at actual items, which removes the ability to both experience the product and shop by comparison.Hiring a brand ambassador may be the one of the best things a brand could do today. Why? It builds engagement and real connection, something missing from current in store interactions. And in doing so, you build more brand ambassadors after the fact, giving your brand real momentum.The Longer Game explores the future of retail across Amazon, ecommerce, and brick-and-mortar.The goal is simple: help brands grow by understanding how all channels work together.Retail is evolving. The brands that win are the ones willing to adapt.Subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Learn more: https://thelongergame.comAbout the Guest: Al Schuster is the President and Owner of Polaris Brand Promotions, a nationwide experiential marketing and promotional staffing agency.Connect with Al: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aschuster4379 Website: https://polarisbrandpromotions.comAbout the Host:Michael Maher is Chief Idea Officer of Cartology, an Amazon-focused agency helping brands grow revenue and profitability.Connect with Michael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/immichaelmaherEmail: michael@thinkcartology.comSponsored by Cartologyhttps://thinkcartology.com

Bonjour et bienvenue dans la revue de presse hebdo et audio du secteur retail / e-commerce en France proposée par Les Digital Doers.

Robert Dow buys and sells raw land across Texas and Oklahoma — mostly sight unseen, almost entirely through direct mail. It's a lean operation built on a simple idea: take infrastructure you already have and point it at a new market. In this conversation, we get into his direct mail philosophy (why novelty beats clever copywriting, why your letter should be about the reader and not you), how he thinks about capital structure and tax efficiency, and his take on AI — that it's a powerful tool but not a durable moat. The edge still comes from domain expertise and knowing immediately which option is worth keeping. We also get into personal finance: a self-directed Roth IRA structure that's quietly been one of his best investments, and why most founders shouldn't be doing private deals. Guest: Robert Dow, founder of Remarkable Land Sponsor: [wayfront.com/tmba](wayfront.com/tmba) Thanks to this week's sponsor Wayfront — the AI-ready operating system for productized agencies. One client portal. One team dashboard. All your data, AI-accessible. TMBA listeners get an extra free month on top of the trial at wayfront.com/tmba. Links: Dan Kennedy — The Ultimate Sales Letter Seth Godin — Purple Cow Seth Godin — Linchpin Al Ries & Jack Trout — The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing Al Ries — Focus John Ruhlin — Giftology Donald Miller — Building a StoryBrand Aaron Ross — Predictable Revenue Chris Voss — Never Split the Difference Robert Cialdini — Influence Alex Hormozi — $100M Offers Jack Carr — The Terminal List Andy Weir — Project Hail Mary Andy Weir — The Martian Cormac McCarthy — The Road Business Resources Upcoming DC Events

Hyla Nayeri co-founded 437, a bootstrapped activewear brand, into an eight-figure business— and she did it by simplifying ruthlessly, betting on organic social and influencer marketing, and protecting a culture that includes a four-day workweek. For more on 437 and show notes click here Subscribe and watch Shopify Masters on YouTube!Sign up for your FREE Shopify Trial here.

In this episode of the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast, host Josh Hadley shares five strategies he would prioritize when launching a new e-commerce brand today. Drawing from over a decade of experience scaling his own brand to eight figures, Josh covers: building recurring revenue models for compounding growth, identifying products with TikTok Shop viral potential, securing favorable manufacturer payment terms to optimize cash flow, prioritizing TikTok Shop as the primary sales channel over Amazon or Shopify, and developing a mission-driven brand that commands trust and premium pricing. The episode delivers actionable insights for entrepreneurs seeking scalable, sustainable e-commerce success.Bullet Points:Importance of recurring revenue models for sustainable growth in e-commerce.Strategies for identifying products with viral potential on TikTok Shop.Building strong relationships with manufacturers to secure favorable payment terms.Prioritizing TikTok Shop as the primary sales channel for new products.Developing a mission-driven brand that fosters trust and allows for premium pricing.The impact of subscription or membership models on customer lifetime value.Leveraging TikTok Shop's unique algorithm for effective product-market fit testing.Utilizing pre-orders as a cash flow strategy to fund production.The shift in e-commerce dynamics away from traditional platforms like Amazon.Creating a cohesive brand narrative to enhance customer loyalty and brand value.Timestamps:00:00:54 Recurring Revenue is KeyThe importance of building a brand with a recurring revenue model, like consumables or subscriptions, for compounding growth.00:07:55 Viral Products on TikTok ShopFocus on finding or creating products that have viral potential on TikTok Shop to unlock success across all sales channels.00:09:57 Strong Manufacturer RelationshipsPrioritize building relationships with manufacturers to secure favorable payment terms, creating a negative cash conversion cycle for infinite scalability.00:14:10 Prioritizing TikTok Shop FirstLaunch new products on TikTok Shop first, as success there proves viability and drives traffic to other channels like Shopify and Amazon.00:17:08 Building a Mission-Driven BrandFocus on creating a true brand with a mission and values to build customer trust and command premium pricing.00:19:28 Recap of the Five StrategiesA summary of the five key focus areas: recurring revenue, TikTok virality, manufacturer terms, TikTok Shop first, and mission-driven branding.Links and Mentions:Business Models & Revenue"Reoccurring Revenue": "00:01:54""Reoccurring Revenue": "00:19:28"Products & Tools"Intake Breathing": "00:04:04"E-commerce Platforms & Sales Channels"TikTok Shop": "00:08:56""Sales Channels": "00:19:28""Viral Products on TikTok": "00:19:28"Supplier & Manufacturer Relationships"Manufacturer Relationships": "00:09:57""Manufacturer Relationships": "00:19:28"Business Strategies"Pre-orders": "00:12:09"Branding & Mission"Brand Mission": "00:17:08""Brand Purpose": "00:19:28"Transcript:Josh Hadley 00:00:00  I'm going to share with you the five things I would focus on if I had to start a brand new e-commerce brand from scratch today. Welcome to the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast, I'm Josh Hadley. I've scaled my own ecommerce brand from 0 to 8 figures, and I'm actively building towards nine figures in sales. This podcast is where I document that journey and share the systems, the strategies, and the lessons learned in real time so that you can learn what actually matters and scale your own business. My name is Josh Hadley. First and foremost, I am a man of faith. I'm a husband to a beautiful wife and the father of four children. I've been selling you the e-commerce space for over a decade, doing over $20 million in annual revenue and selling multi-millionaire on Amazon, TikTok, shop and Shopify. And I am also the host of the number one business strategy podcast Ecomm Breakthrough. Today, I want to share with you the five things that I would really focus on if I had to start a brand new eCommerce brand from scratch.Josh Hadley 00:00:54  And this is honestly coming from a point of identifying like the weaknesses within my own brand things I would wish I could change if I, you know, could have any dream or wish in the world. But also, after having run my own e-commerce brand for the past ten years and having pivoted that brand a whole number of times, and we've pivoted the brand multiple times in order to keep it afloat. And with all of that experience, here are the top five things that I would be actively working on if I had to start a new brand from scratch. So number one, the holy grail of all things I would be looking for in any new e-commerce brand is do they have reoccurring revenue? Okay, that could be two different things. I could have a consumable item and it could be like a razor blade as an example, right. For shaving if I needed. That's why Harry's Razors, All Dollar Shave Club, etc. like we're all very familiar with them because they are able to spend a lot of money up front to go acquire a customer because they know the lifetime value of a customer, because they know that customer is going to come back and reorder the cartridges to refill their razor blades on their razors, etc. that is the holy grail of e-commerce.Josh Hadley 00:02:06  And so it's the same thing with supplements, right? That's why there's the supplement space is heavily crowded, but there's so much opportunity because if you get it right, you now have a compounding vehicle. And this is the biggest mindset shift that I've had to go through. When I first started in e-commerce, I was excited whenever I got that first sale, even on Etsy, right? And on Shopify, you hear the catching sound and you love that sound and you're just like, yes, I got a new customer. And yes, it gives you a good boost of dopamine. However, I'm getting really tired at this stage of my career in just being so front end acquisition heavy, and that's one of the most disappointing things. If I were to look back over the past decade, is I have not compounded my growth. We have sold millions, millions of customers have purchased our products. That's great. Sounds impressive. However, I wish that those millions of customers would have compounded over the past decade.Josh Hadley 00:03:07  But instead we were so front end acquisition heavy and focused that yes, we could go generate a sell for a new product on Amazon. But then what? Every day we start at zero. Every month I start at zero. And that is one of the biggest challenges in business if you want. It's all about having the right money model that sits behind your brand, and that is ultimately the biggest e-commerce brands that are able to scale more quickly and rapidly have either a consumable product that customers need to come back and repurchase, whether it be a supplement, whether it be, you know, maybe you're selling soda or its candy food, or it's even something like we talked about the refillable cartridges, which, by the way, here's a new brand that I was actually very, very impressed with. They took this and they said, hey, how do we how do we invent reoccurring revenue into a business where, more often than not, it's just kind of like one time purchases. So this is coming into it's called intake breathing.Josh Hadley 00:04:04  And what they have are these nas...

Kevin McLaughlin is a Google Analytics and Tag Manager expert specializing in building custom Google Analytics implementations that give you consistent, accurate, and easy to use results that actually help you make better business and product decisions.  Because of his years of experience in product development and management, he knows how to implement your marketing analytics tools so you can derive new insights from your data. As a developer and engineer, Kevin can deal with any level of technical-detail, from quick audits to in-depth, custom javascript setups and maintenance.  He has worked at both large companies and small startups and have setup analytics for both as well as many blogs, small businesses, and non-profits.  Kevin is currently developing several web-applications myself, which keeps me up to date on the latest web technologies and how to implement analytics effectively with them. In This Conversation We Discuss:  [00:30] Intro [01:30] Solving messy data gaps in business [03:33] Building tools to fix your own pain [04:50] Rebuilding analytics for a new internet era [06:20] Adapting to a more privacy-first internet [06:56] Moving beyond session-centric measurement [08:15] Aligning analytics with real shopping sessions [09:24] Shifting from plug-and-play to custom reporting [10:25] Callout [10:36] Overcoming the GA4 learning curve shock [12:37] Unlocking power in custom GA4 explorations [13:13] Fixing tracking before analyzing performance [14:37] Breaking down how GA4 actually receives data [16:53] Understanding why GA4 misses real orders [18:23] Fixing missing orders with server-side tracking [20:44] Choosing build vs buy analytics tools [21:31] Keeping analytics simple for early-stage stores [22:37] Avoiding over-optimization too early [25:01] Staying grounded in real customer acquisition [25:47] Combining clean data with real interpretation [26:49] Making GA4 implementation simple for merchants Resources: Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube The leading GA4 integration for Shopify slideruleanalytics.com/ Follow Kevin McLaughlin https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mclaughlin-1900/ If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

When Fullerton Tool started down the e-commerce path, they weren't trying to build a custom platform. They were trying to solve customer problems. In this episode, Beth Bauer and Tim Roenicke share how a website that initially focused on inventory visibility and product search gradually evolved into a business-critical tool for quoting, ordering, customer service and distributor support. One of the most interesting parts of the conversation is how often customer behavior shaped the direction of development. Search functionality led to quoting. Quoting led to new workflows. Distributor feedback led to new features. Internal teams began using the same tools customers were using. Over time, the platform became less about e-commerce and more about removing friction from the buying process. We discuss: The lessons learned from an early failed attempt at e-commerceWhy product search became the foundation for everything elseHow instant quoting helped speed up sales conversations The importance of customer feedback loopsWhy some distributors embraced the platform while others resisted itThe realities of supporting a custom system in-houseWhat manufacturers should consider before deciding to build or buy This is a conversation about e-commerce, but it's really a conversation about understanding customers and designing digital experiences around the way they actually work. ABOUT IMC LIVE IMC Live is the interactive webinar series from the Industrial Marketing Collective — created for marketers at manufacturing companies. Each session is designed to help you connect with peers, sharpen your skills and drive measurable results in your work.

The headlines about China's economy often tell two contradictory stories at once: recovery and stagnation, consumer confidence and persistent caution, tech boom and structural drag. Making sense of what's actually happening requires someone who's tracking the data closely, week by week, from the ground up. Robert Wu does exactly that through Baiguan, a consultancy and popular newsletter that covers the Chinese economy, consumer trends, and business developments.In this episode, Robert gives us his unfiltered read on the state of China's economy in 2026. He breaks down two trends his recent newsletter highlighted: what's happening in the real estate market and whether salary recovery is real or overstated. He also assesses consumer sentiment and what it's actually showing up in spending behaviour across categories.Robert then takes us through a series of sector-specific spotlights: the auto market and whether robotaxis are genuinely scaling or still in hype territory; Pop Mart's trajectory and what it signals about Chinese consumer brands going global; DeepSeek's latest model and what it reveals about China's AI competitive position; and the food delivery war between Meituan and its challengers, and what that tells us about the state of China's consumer internet.He closes with the key variables that will shape the rest of the Chinese economy in 2026, and what international businesses should understand about China that isn't making it into the headlines. Discussion Points·       What Baiguan is, who Robert writes for, and what led him to cover the Chinese economy·       High-level read on the state of China's economy in 2026: recovery, stagnation, or something more complex·       Real estate market update: what the data is showing and whether the sector has turned a corner·       Salary recovery: how real it is, which segments are seeing it, and what it means for consumer spending·       Consumer sentiment assessment: how people are actually feeling and how it's showing up in spending patterns·       Auto market dynamics and the robotaxi question: genuine scaling or early-stage hype·       Pop Mart: bullish or bearish, and what its trajectory tells us about C-brand globalisation·       DeepSeek's new model and what it signals about China's AI competitive position relative to the West·       The food delivery war: who's winning, who's losing, and what it reveals about China's consumer internet·       Key variables to watch for the rest of 2026 and what international businesses are missing about China

In dieser Folge sprechen wir mit Bastian Siebers, dem CEO von Flaconi, über seinen beruflichen Weg im E-Commerce und über die Entwicklung des Unternehmens. Ein zentraler Teil der Folge ist die Transformation von Flaconi seit 2022. Bastian beschreibt, dass Flaconi das Sortiment gestrafft, die Organisation neu aufgestellt und die Arbeit im Unternehmen wieder klarer und disziplinierter organisiert hat. Wir gehen die strategischen „P's“ durch: Purchasing, Pricing, Promotion und Product. Wir sprechen über den Verzicht auf Drugstore-Produkte, ein neues Pricing-Setup, die Rolle von Performance-Marketing und CRM sowie über den Shop und die App als zentrale Produktbasis. Außerdem erklärt Bastian, warum wir kein Marketplace-Modell und keine Eigenmarken verfolgen. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt ist Retail Media. Bastian erklärt, wie wir Werbeflächen und Platzierungen auf der Plattform vermarkten und dafür eine eigene Gesellschaft aufgebaut haben. Außerdem sprechen wir über die internationale Expansion, die Flaconi aus Halle zentral steuert und schrittweise auf weitere europäische Märkte ausweitet. Zum Schluss geht es um Markenbeziehungen, selektive Vertriebssysteme, Graumarkt und Dupes sowie um die Rolle von AI und Automation. Partner in der Folge: https://linktr.ee/kassenzone Community: https://kassenzone.de/discord Feedback zum Podcast? Mail an alex@kassenzone.de Disclaimer: https://www.kassenzone.de/disclaimer/ Kassenzone” wird vermarktet von Podstars by OMR. Du möchtest in “Kassenzone” werben? Dann https://podstars.de/kontakt/?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=shownotes_kassenzone Alexander Graf: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandergraf/ https://twitter.com/supergraf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KassenzoneDe/ Blog: https://www.kassenzone.de/ E-Commerce Buch 2019: https://amzn.eu/d/5Adc1ZH Plattformbuch 2024: https://amzn.eu/d/1tAk82E

On this week's show special guest co-host Chris Wade, the founder of Corellium turned Cellebrite CTO, joins Patrick Gray and James Wilson to discuss the week's cybersecurity news. They cover: Microsoft has repos owned, GitHub tokens popped, and a new 0day dropped on them Meanwhile, researchers are choosing full disclosure instead of engaging MSRC Meta's AI support agent allowed a staggering 20,000 accounts to be stolen! Apple pulls Russia's MAX messenger from the App Store and disables notifications Anthropic gives the public our first Mythos-class model but it won't do cybersecurity work Stripe and Google Tag Manager used in eCommerce website hack campaign And much, much more! This week's show is brought to you by runZero. HD Moore, runZeros' founder, drops by in this week's sponsor interview to talk about the AI vibe shift. Everyone is very worried about getting owned all of a sudden, and it's really changing the cybersecurity business. This episode is also available on YouTube. Show notes Microsoft Hacked to Deliver Malware to Claude and Gemini Users | 404.feed.press Researcher publishes GitHub token-stealing exploit, blames Microsoft's disclosure process | therecord.media Microsoft Defender 'RoguePlanet' zero-day grants SYSTEM privileges | BleepingComputer Microsoft breaks Patch Tuesday record with 206 vulnerabilities | CyberScoop chompie1337 | X WhatsApp says NSO targeted users with spearfishing attacks in violation of court order | therecord.media Over 20,000 Instagram accounts stolen in Meta AI support hack | BleepingComputer New Apple feature automatically changes your compromised passwords | BleepingComputer Apple removes Russia's state-backed messaging app Max from its store | therecord.media Exclusive: Anthropic's Mythos can exploit new flaws in hours | Anthropic's new model is Mythos on a leash | CyberScoop Anthropic Offers Mythos Upgrade for Cyber Partners and a ‘Safe' Version for the Rest of You | wired.com OpenClaw AI agent found falling for phishing attacks, spills user data | BleepingComputer OpenAI unveils Lockdown Mode to protect sensitive data from prompt injection attacks | TechCrunch Security Hands on with Intelligent Terminal, an AI-powered Windows Terminal | BleepingComputer Seeking Counsel: Ongoing Targeted Campaign Against US Law Firms | Mandiant Check Point warns of zero-day flaw targeted by ransomware affiliate | Cybersecurity Dive ServiceNow discloses security incident exposing customer data | BleepingComputer Credit card theft campaign abuses Stripe to host stolen payment info | BleepingComputer CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks defy estimates as AI fuels cyber demand | Cybersecurity Dive The U.S. Military Quietly Turned GPS Into a Global ‘Numbers Station,' Evidence Suggests | 404.feed.press New 'HTTP/2 Bomb' DoS attack crashes web servers in under a minute | BleepingComputer Google has quietly cut staff across its Cloud business | businessinsider.com

Dr. Mark Grether, SVP and General Manager of PayPal Ads, joins Phillip from PayPal's Manhattan offices to argue that the merchant storefront is migrating off owned websites and into LLMs. This may make the mechanics of customer experience and loyalty a bit murky, but Mark explains how PayPal's "transaction graph,”  built on real purchases across 30 million merchants and 400 million consumers, acts as the deterministic identity layer that the post-cookie ad world has been missing.  We also cover the evolving world of commerce media, from zero-click commerce and CTV attribution to PayPal Ads' newest product, Storefront Ads, which transforms the creative into the checkout.  The Cart Cartographer Key takeaways: Consumers now start product discovery on LLMs, not search engines or merchant sites. PayPal's transaction graph spans 30M merchants and 400M consumers, representing real purchases, not just clicks. Deterministic payment identity beats cookies and probabilistic IDs for cross-channel attribution. Storefront Ads turn any ad into a one-click, pre-populated checkout. Creators run two businesses: generating consumer data, then monetizing it. [00:04:03] "We're not just seeing behavior, we're actually seeing the real transactions. We know what people are purchasing — not whether they search for something or browse for something. We actually see what they are buying." – Mark Grether [00:11:00] "The trick about our identity is it was built from a finance perspective, meaning I need to understand that you are you and not your twin brother. Our identity has to clear a much higher bar compared to probabilistic IDs or cookies." – Mark Grether [00:13:40] "The idea of Storefront Ads is that the creative itself becomes the shop. You're getting exposed to the sneakers, and with one click, you can actually make the purchase. We already know who you are, we know your bank account, we know your address — everything is pre-populated. From a consumer perspective, it becomes super easy to finish a transaction." In-Show Mentions: PayPal's Storefront Ads Learn more about PayPal Ads Associated Links: Check out Future Commerce on YouTube Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

“Ultimately, it's the people that determine the success or the failure of technology, not the technology itself.” The latest report by Arktic Fox and Six Degrees dives deep into why brands and retailers will only win in retail media, personalization, and AI if they pair rising investment with stronger data foundations and better product content. Teresa Sperti, Director at Arktic Fox, sits down with Jeremy Goldman to discuss how achieving these results ultimately requires credible measurement alongside teams capable of turning technology into execution. Inside the episode: - Why brands are shifting away from marketing to humans and moving towards optimizing for AI-driven discovery and decision-making - How brands can shift their tech approach toward loyalty and personalization - Why retailers need to invest in eCommerce and stronger digital shelf capability to defend share and improve performance - Why brands must better prepare their talent, as companies are currently buying technology faster than they are building the organizational skills to run it Don't let your technology investments outpace your team's capabilities. Listen to the full podcast episode above to bridge the execution gap.

In this episode, Josh interviews Norm Lanier, CEO of a long-running Amazon private label business. Norm discusses his journey from side hustles to full-time e-commerce, the challenges of increased competition and inventory management, and insights gained from Josh's business strategy audit. Key takeaways include focusing on the most profitable products, increasing strategic ad spend, and shifting from “base hit” to “home run” products. The conversation highlights the importance of data-driven decision-making and adapting business strategies to sustain growth and profitability in a rapidly evolving e-commerce landscape.Chapters:Introduction & Guest Background (00:00:00)Josh introduces Norm Lanier, outlines his Amazon business experience, and sets up the episode's focus on the business audit.Norm's E-commerce Journey (00:00:59)Norm shares how he started in e-commerce, his transition from HP, and his experience across multiple marketplaces.Challenges in E-commerce (00:02:24)Norm discusses recent challenges: increased competition, economic downturn, and feeling out of touch with business metrics.Importance of Data & Inventory Control (00:03:15)Norm explains the need for granular dashboards, product-level profitability, and efforts to clean up catalog and manage inventory.Purpose of the Strategy Audit (00:04:15)Norm describes his motivation for the audit: getting an expert's perspective and actionable insights beyond what accountants provide.Key Audit Takeaways: Advertising & Levers (00:05:28)Norm highlights the realization that increasing advertising spend is a major growth lever, a unique insight from the audit.Profitability & SKU Management (00:06:00)Josh and Norm discuss the struggle with profit margins, managing 7000 SKUs, and the need to focus on high-value activities.Mindset Shift: From Base Hits to Home Runs (00:07:28)Norm reflects on shifting from launching many small products to focusing on bigger opportunities that can significantly grow the business.Action Items & 80/20 Focus (00:10:02)Josh summarizes three action items: prioritizing high-impact levers, simplifying by focusing on top-performing products, and strategic PPC investment.Keyword Strategy for PPC (00:13:19)Norm and Josh discuss the importance of identifying and categorizing keywords before increasing PPC spend for maximum impact.Audit Value & Closing Thoughts (00:14:05)Norm shares the value of the audit, the benefit of an expert's perspective, and appreciation for the insights received.Wrap-up & Future Outlook (00:15:04)Josh and Norm conclude, expressing interest in a follow-up episode to track progress and encouraging listeners to seek similar audits.Links and Mentions:E-commerce Platforms  "Amazon": "00:01:06"  "Shopify": "00:01:06"  "Etsy": "00:01:06"  Business Tools and Evaluation  "Dashboards and Tools for Business Evaluation": "00:03:15"  "Comprehensive Business Strategy Audit": "00:00:00"  Marketing and PPC  "PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Management": "00:10:02"  "Keyword Strategy for PPC": "00:13:19"  Business Strategy and Mindset  "Mindset Shift for Entrepreneurs": "00:09:02"  "Identifying Levers for Business Impact": "00:11:03"  "20/80 Rule (Pareto Principle)": "00:12:16"  "Simplifying Business by Focusing on Top Products": "00:12:16"Transcript:Josh 00:00:00  Today I am speaking with Norm Lanier. He is the CEO of his own Amazon private label business that he's been running for over a decade now, and he has lots of experience. In fact, Norm is one of the lucky winners of my comprehensive business strategy audit sessions. And so today, I'm super excited that we're going to be diving into the conversation, the audit that we just performed on Norm's business, and he's going to be sharing his takeaways, the insights that he's gleaned. he is already doing millions of dollars in business, but he has aspirations to continue to grow his business and to hopefully one day be able to exit that business. And today, that's the conversation that we had and we talked about. So, Norm, with that introduction, I want you to kind of give us a quick intro about yourself, how you got started into the e-comm world and what you've been doing over the last decade.Norm 00:00:59  Yeah. Thanks, Josh. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you and your listeners also.Norm 00:01:06  I've been doing, First. e-com business. I kind of, came in the back door and started that in 2004. I started building some side hustles while I was an employee at at HP. I got to the point where I was making more of my side hustles than my real job. So for my 50th anniversary, I 50th birthday, I turned in my resignation. And I've been doing Amazon and Shopify, Etsy, a lot of different marketplaces since then full time. And that's kind of where I'm at today.Josh 00:01:44  I love it, and Norm and I dance in the same space. Sometimes we might be considered competitors, but there's such a big marketplace out there that we were able to, you know, really kind of lift up, open the hood today and really dive into each other's businesses. He was able to ask me a lot of questions, and hopefully I was able to share some valuable insights with you, Norm. And that's what we'll talk about. Norm, we first started off by talking about, you know, what is your overall goal in in your business.Josh 00:02:15  Right. And what are the biggest obstacles that you're facing. So why don't you go ahead and kind of reiterate what we started our conversation off with.Norm 00:02:24  Yeah. So, you know, just taking a look, you know, I think I'm fall into the same category as most people are selling in the e-commerce space right now, dealing with more competition. things are constantly moving. you know, the economy is down to a degree. So I think in our space, we're, we're seeing, you know, some pullback on, on spend over the last couple of years. So that's created challenges, right. And you know, as we as we mentioned, I've been doing this for a long time, and I really had gotten to the point where, a couple of years ago and stuff. I really felt like I was out of touch that before. It was pretty easy for me. I really felt like I had it dialed in, and over the past few years, it really felt like I was kind of losing control.Norm 00:03:15  And a lot of that had to do with not having the proper dashboards and tools to be able to evaluate kind of where we're at on a very granular level. Right. Because it's one thing to see your big number and your paychecks and all of those things come in on a monthly basis. But, you know, on a product level, after shipping fees and advertising and all of those refunds and so forth, what is each product actually generating as far as income and what is really driving bottom line growth? And once I got the proper tools in place, really kind of opened my eyes that a lot of products that we had, it's like, why am I even bothering with this when it's all said and done? I'm not making any money. It's certainly not worth the effort on this. So we've really have gone in and cleaned up our catalog and eliminated a lot of stuff. A lot of exce...

Software agents are now the highest-converting shoppers on the web, and most stores are built to lock them out. Rick Watson sit down with Stripe's Danny Smith, who leads global agentic commerce solution architecture, to work through what changes when your buyer is a piece of software.The Watson Weekly interview is sponsored by Avalara - the agentic AI platform automating global tax and compliance for leading eCommerce brands. For more details: https://avalaratax.watsonweekly.com.They cover why agents convert about 4x better than humans, why two-thirds of agent checkouts fail on sites built for people, and the four ways merchants can let agents pay, from approving every purchase by hand up to agents transacting with each other directly. Danny closes with three concrete moves to make now, starting with treating your robots.txt like a doorman instead of a bouncer.

Rory O'Neill, CMO of Checkout.com, doesn't just solve for payments- he's solving for brand preference in a crowded payments space. And he's doing it by competing on what's different, not what others do better. That insight changes everything, from how you position payments to how you build a team that can sustain growth as a challenger. In the latest episode of Scratch, Rory breaks down the playbook that lets Checkout compete with global giants. Brand preference wins 95% of B2B deals before salespeople ever show up- so your marketing owns the invisible 60% of the buyer's journey. Challenger brands win by picking one fight and building culture around it, not chasing everything competitors do. He reveals the three-part formula: focus your core business, build your culture, reinvest profit. Consumer marketing skills-data, insight, action-are B2B's secret superpower. And his rule: if you wouldn't say it at dinner, don't write it in marketing. The key takeaway: Brand preference wins deals - 95% of the time, the brands on the day-one top-five list are the ones that win. B2B buyers spend 60% of their journey before contacting a salesperson. Define your focus as a challenger - Compete on what's different, not on what competitors do better. Checkout only does digital payments to stay focused while competitors spread across multiple business lines. Three elements beat category norms - Focus on your core business, build the human operating system (culture, people, vision), then reinvest capital in new products. Consumer marketer skills are powerful in B2B - Data, insight, action, brand building, and performance marketing from the consumer world unlock B2B success. Understand stakeholder maps - B2B is complex: CTOs influence CFOs, recommenders influence buyers. Map those relationships to win. Simplify your language - Ditch jargon like "frictionless" and "seamless." Use words you'd use at dinner. Marketing becomes more interesting and understood. Marketing is logic and magic - Be both data-driven and creative. Avoid letting fiefdoms kill integrated work. Join everything together. Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/chR0mn9Pum0 Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he's joined by Rory O'Neill of Checkout.com in this episode. Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn  Find Eric on LinkedIn Find Rory on LinkedIn  Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we'd love to hear from you. Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We're on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.If you're interested in learning more about marketing from successful CMOs, we compiled a list of the top 5 CMO podcasts to listen to in 2024; check it out here

Motheo Khoaripe speaks to retail analyst the Finance Ghost, about the dramatic shift reshaping South Africa’s grocery sector and why convenience, rather than location, has become the new battleground. As online shopping and on-demand delivery transform consumer behaviour, traditional advantages like prime store locations and large franchise networks are being challenged by powerful apps and sophisticated fulfilment systems. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering you thought-provoking insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape.    Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Money Show Listen live Primedia+ weekdays from 18:00 and 20:00 (SA Time) to The Money Show with Stephen Grootes broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/7QpH0jY or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/PlhvUVe Subscribe to The Money Show Daily Newsletter and the Weekly Business Wrap here https://buff.ly/v5mfetc The Money Show is brought to you by Absa     Follow us on social media   702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702   CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/Radio702 CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Motheo Khoaripe speaks to Bobby Ramagwede, CEO of the Automobile Association of South Africa about growing concerns over vehicle safety standards after crash tests revealed poor results for some of South Africa’s best-selling entry-level cars. In other interviews, retail analyst Finance Ghost talks about the dramatic shift reshaping South Africa’s grocery sector and why convenience, rather than location, has become the new battleground. As online shopping and on-demand delivery transform consumer behaviour, traditional advantages like prime store locations and large franchise networks are being challenged by powerful apps and sophisticated fulfilment systems. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering you thought-provoking insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape.    Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Money Show Listen live Primedia+ weekdays from 18:00 and 20:00 (SA Time) to The Money Show with Stephen Grootes broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/7QpH0jY or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/PlhvUVe Subscribe to The Money Show Daily Newsletter and the Weekly Business Wrap here https://buff.ly/v5mfetc The Money Show is brought to you by Absa     Follow us on social media   702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702   CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/Radio702 CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Pulse Special series features the hottest content from the UK's leading ecommerce event, including panel discussions with respected brands and technology vendors.Exclusive to Inside Commerce, these discussions share interesting insights from respected industry practitioners.In this panel, ecommerce leaders discuss the operational capabilities that are critical to global commerce success.Panelists:Alister Hewitt, Director of Technology & Operations at Rat & BoaSara Gomes, Ecommerce Manager at Studio NicholsonRoss Allsop, Global Brand Advisor, Swap Commerce.Key discussion points:Maintaining brand integrity as you expand globally.Managing growth in the US through turbulent times.Strategies to smooth operations for handling returns.How operational inputs can improve the front-end customer experience.Keeping brand control & authenticity across agentic journeys.View all Pulse panels.About PulsePulse is an ecommerce conference designed for ambitious high-growth retailers and brands looking for inspiration and innovation from some of the top speakers in ecommerce and digital marketing. It takes place over 2 days every year in London, UK, with its sister New York event in September.FOLLOW US:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inside-commerce/ 

Sean Reyes noticed that every shock absorber looks identical from the outside—and none of the automotive brands detail what's actually inside. So he built ShockSurplus, an education-first automotive parts company that turned that information gap into a bootstrapped, eight-figure business. For more on Shock Surplus and show notes click here Subscribe and watch Shopify Masters on YouTube!Sign up for your FREE Shopify Trial here.

On Episode 304 of the Remarkable Retail podcast, co-hosts Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc dig into a busy earnings season, the global forces reshaping retail, and the competitive divides separating winners from also-rans. They open with the department store sector, which Steve frames as "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." Macy's shows incremental progress and Bloomingdale's posts double-digit growth, but Kohl's stays stuck and JCPenney's latest numbers underscore the structural problems dogging traditional operators. The throughline: shifting market share, real estate decisions, and changing consumer behavior keep narrowing the path forward for the format, and the gap between the sector's healthier players and its laggards continues to widen. From there, the hosts turn to retail's brighter turnaround stories. Victoria's Secret keeps building momentum with stronger comps and improved profitability, while Gap Inc. shows how disciplined brand management and sharper product focus can revive a business. They also weigh the intensifying competition among athleisure brands as the category's leaders pull further ahead and the middle of the pack scrambles to keep up. Value retailing is the episode's recurring theme. TJX, Ross Stores, Burlington, and Five Below all posted strong results, reinforcing the durable consumer shift toward value and the treasure hunt. Steve and Michael explore why off-price keeps outperforming while dollar stores wrestle with a tougher customer—and they spotlight Costco, where fuel, membership economics, and traffic-driving loss leaders keep the warehouse club model ahead of much of the sector. Drawing on his recent travels through Portugal and Spain, Steve shares observations on European retail: the distinct dynamics of specialty players, the enduring pull of department stores like El Corte Inglés, and one of the world's most remarkable retail experiences, Livraria Lello in Porto, a bookstore so beloved that shoppers pay admission and book a timeslot just to get in. The episode closes with Walmart's fast-expanding same-day delivery, the rise of faster fulfillment across retail, Saks Global's exit from bankruptcy, and the geopolitical risks looming over supply chains and consumer spending. Michael also previews his visit to T&T Supermarket's first California store—a reminder of how much innovation is still alive in modern grocery. It's a wide-ranging look at a sector where the winners are pulling away and the stragglers are running out of time. Join us at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York June 23rd and 24th with this exclusive discount code for 10% off general admission tickets and FREE retail tickets: Your code is "REMARKABLE" . See you in the Big Apple! About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

Ever been told you need to hire help ASAP? Same. And while that's usually good advice, nobody warns you about what happens when the person you hired is actually making everything worse. I'm talking about this one today because a friend of mine just went through it. She spent months dealing with a VA who was unreliable, couldn't keep up with recurring tasks, and somehow never connected the dots no matter how many conversations they had. It was costing her more time to manage this person than it would've taken to just do the work herself. And the mental load? That was the real killer. So we're getting into what it looks like when your "help" is actually holding you back, how to know when it's time to cut someone loose, and how to think about hiring the right way so you're not just filling a seat. The sneaky way bad hires eat up more of your time than doing it yourself ever would Why the mental load of managing the wrong person might be costing you more than their salary The real story behind my friend's VA situation (and the moment everything changed) What happened when I hired a full-time VA and why it backfired The difference between needing help and needing the right help A hiring mistake that has nothing to do with someone being bad at their job Why right now is the perfect time to get intentional about who's on your team before Q4 _______ Full Episode Show Notes http://ecommercebadassery.com/380   _______ Learn With Me Work with Me 1:1 https://ecommercebadassery.com/ecommerce-help/ https://ecommercebadassery.com/email-marketing/   Courses & Membership https://ecommercebadassery.com/membership https://ecommercebadassery.com/programs   _______   Let's Connect Website: http://ecommercebadassery.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecommercebadassery Membership: http://ecommercebadassery.com/membership   _______   Rate, Review, & Subscribe Like what you heard? I'd be forever grateful if you'd rate, review and subscribe to the show! Not only does it help your fellow eCommerce entrepreneurs find the eCommerce Badassery podcast; but it's also valuable feedback for me to continue bringing you the content you want to hear.    Review Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ecommerce-badassery/id1507457683      

You focus on building strategies that start with understanding the consumer. How has putting the consumer at the center of your decisions shaped your most successful digital initiatives?Brands today operate across retail, pure-play eCommerce, and DTC channels. What are the biggest challenges in creating a seamless experience, and how do you approach solving them?With your experience in performance marketing and advanced measurement, how do you blend data insights with creative strategy to drive meaningful growth?From launching high-converting storefronts to testing new digital platforms, what have been the most important lessons in scaling digital initiatives effectively?If viewers remember one key insight or piece of advice from this conversation, what would you want it to be?

This week, Dave speaks with Dean McElwee, ecommerce and digital transformation leader and author of Ecommerce for CEOs.Dean shares what he's learned working across global brands, complex categories, and digital shelf transformation — including why DIY and home improvement require a very different ecommerce content playbook.In this episode, Dean breaks down the challenges of managing SKU complexity, spec data, mobile legibility, B2B and B2C shopper needs, and content workflows across retailers. He also shares his perspective on It'sRapid Optix, and why analytics should help teams understand not just what needs to be fixed, but why those fixes matter in the shopper decision process.The conversation also explores how AI and creative automation are helping ecommerce teams refresh content more efficiently, reduce manual work, and focus on doing the digital shelf basics brilliantly.Connect with Dean on LinkedInFollow Beyond the Shelf on LinkedInLearn More about It'sRapidGet the It'sRapid Creative Automation PlaybookTake It'sRapid's Creative Workflow Automation with AI surveyEmail us at sales@itsrapid.io to find out how to get your free AI Image AuditTheme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.comProducer: Jake Musiker

In this episode, Lauren talks to the seller of an eCommerce, service, and digital product business created in June 2021 in the sports, business, entertainment, hospitality, and travel niches. Listen in to find out how the business makes an average of $32,844.00 per month in net profit, why the seller has decided to sell, the lessons learned from running the business, and much more. Visit https://empireflippers.com/listing/94296 to learn more about this business.

In this episode, Lauren talks to the seller of an Amazon FBA, eCommerce, Other, and SaaS business created in January 2016 in the business, electronics, and technology niches. Listen in to find out how the business makes an average of $14,966.00 per month in net profit, why the seller has decided to sell, the lessons learned from running the business, and much more. Visit https://empireflippers.com/listing/94522 to learn more about this business.

“We're not hiring less because of AI. We just expect each hire to be more productive.” Is AI shrinking your marketing team, or just changing who belongs on it? Connor Rolain (Head of Growth, HexClad) and Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty) get into how two of the most operator-driven brands in ecommerce are rethinking their AI marketing team structure heading into the second half of 2026. They cover which roles are compressing, which are expanding, and what it actually looks like to build a leaner growth team that outputs more. Cody breaks down the CRO program he runs with one person that used to require six. Connor explains why HexClad hired more people after building an AI-powered seeding system, not fewer. And both share how they think about headcount requests now, and what they make teams prove before saying yes. Powered By Motion Creative Benchmarks 2026 https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcastAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Haushttps://www.haus.io/operators Richpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanel Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/

In this episode, Toni and I discuss agentic shopping and how I’m going to through a midlife ecommerce crisis right now. We get into Amazon scraping your website and selling your products without permission, why your Meta and Google ads might not matter much longer, and what you should actually be doing to make sure AI recommends your store over your competitors. It’s a weird time in e-commerce right now and we’re just trying to figure it out together. What You’ll Learn New Tech Is Rewriting How Customers Discover And Buy Stuff How The Old Gatekeepers Are Losing Their Grip […] The post 642: Why Everything You Know About Ecommerce Is About To Break appeared first on MyWifeQuitHerJob.com.

Founded by entrepreneur Meredith Mills-Merritt, The Original Southside is a premium ready-to-drink cocktail brand bringing a fresh, elevated approach to the rapidly growing RTD category. Inspired by a cherished family recipe created by her mother, Meredith transformed the classic Southside cocktail—a refreshing blend of gin, lemon, and mint—into a bar-quality canned beverage made with organic ingredients and a commitment to transparency. Drawing on her background in prestige beauty and product innovation, she applies a product-first philosophy to every aspect of the brand, from ingredient sourcing and formulation to packaging and design. The result is a cocktail that prioritizes quality, simplicity, and a clean ingredient profile without compromising on taste. Beyond building the brand, Meredith is also a co-founder of the Clean Alcohol Collective, an initiative advocating for greater ingredient transparency across the alcohol industry. Through The Original Southside, she is helping redefine what consumers can expect from ready-to-drink cocktails while challenging industry norms around formulation and disclosure. In this episode, Meredit also discusses: How a family canned cocktail recipe became a viral brand Why alcohol should have ingredient labels so consumers know what they're drinking How the beauty industry's "clean" movement influenced beverage innovation Ditching dull drinks in favor of bold, modern branding The rise of health-conscious consumers and how they're reshaping the alcohol market The challenges of building a small alcohol brand in a distribution-controlled industry Debunking common myths about gin, tequila, and vodka being "healthier" choices Why indulgence and moderation can coexist in today's wellness culture We hope you enjoy this episode and gain valuable insights into Meredit's journey and the growth of The Original Southside. Don't forget to subscribe to the Glam & Grow podcast for more in-depth conversations with the most incredible brands, founders, and more. Be sure to check out The Original Southside at www.drinksouthsides.com and on Instagram at @drinksouthsides Rated #1 Best Beauty Business Podcast on FeedPost This episode is brought to you by Wavebreak Leading direct-to-consumer brands hire Wavebreak to turn email marketing into a top revenue driver. Most eCommerce brands don't email right... and it costs them. At Wavebreak, our eCommerce email marketing agency helps qualified brands recapture 7+ figures of lost revenue each year. From abandoned cart emails to Black Friday campaigns, our best-in-class team manage the entire process: strategy, design, copywriting, coding, and testing. All aimed at driving growth, profit, brand recognition, and most importantly, ROI. Curious if Wavebreak is right for you? Reach out at Wavebreak.co

Jason Kutasi is the founder and CEO of SkyHouse, a performance marketing agency that managed $50M in ad spend for 2025 - its first full year of business. He's driven roughly $500M in advertising over his career and built a children's book publisher acquired by Scholastic and a digital marketing platform acquired by Capital One.  Jason specializes in copywriting, funnel analytics, and scaling high-growth DTC and telemedicine brands.Highlight Bullets> Here's a glimpse of what you would learn…. E-commerce growth strategies and challenges.Comparison of selling on Amazon versus Shopify.Importance of average order value (AOV) in scaling advertising.Strategies to increase AOV, such as product bundling and premium versions.The role of TikTok and other platforms in e-commerce marketing.Managing advertising campaigns and the balance between creative volume and quality.The significance of agency versus in-house marketing teams.The impact of AI on marketing and the importance of human expertise.Insights on effective copywriting and video content in advertising.The future of e-commerce marketing and the evolving landscape of digital advertising.In this episode of the E-comm Breakthrough Podcast, host Josh Hadley speaks with Jason Kutasi, CEO of Skyhouse, about scaling e-commerce brands. They discuss the importance of average order value (AOV), emphasizing that brands need at least $60 in margin to run profitable paid ads. Jason contrasts Amazon-first versus Shopify-first strategies, recommends bundling and subscriptions to boost AOV, and advises starting with freelancers before scaling with agencies and in-house teams. They also explore Meta advertising, creative quality versus volume, and how AI augments—but doesn't replace—skilled marketers and copywriters.Here are the 3 action items that Josh identified from this episode:Fix Your AOV Before Scaling Ads Don't run paid ads until your average order value and margins can support CAC. Aim for $60+ margin per order using bundles, upsells, or subscriptions.Build on Shopify, Use Amazon as a Bonus Channel Prioritize DTC (Shopify) to control pricing, data, and AOV—then layer Amazon as an incremental revenue stream, not your foundation.Test Creatives Broadly, Then Double Down on Winners Launch multiple ad variations quickly, identify what works, and scale only high-performing creatives with better production and audience targeting.Timestamps:00:00:00 Introduction to the AOV ProblemJason Kutasi explains that Amazon sellers often struggle to scale on other platforms due to a low Average Order Value.00:00:34 Host & Guest IntroductionHost Josh Hadley introduces the episode's topic and guest Jason Kutasi, founder and CEO of performance marketing agency Skyhouse.00:02:26 Amazon vs. Shopify MindsetA discussion on the two primary approaches to starting an e-commerce business and the challenges faced by Amazon-first brands.00:03:39 The $60 Margin RuleJason explains why brands need at least $60 in margin to profitably acquire customers on paid ad platforms like Meta.00:04:37 Strategies to Increase AOVActionable ways to increase Average Order Value, including creating sister brands, bundling products, and offering aggressive subscription models.00:07:56 The "Shopify First" AdvantageThe benefits of a higher AOV, which provides more margin to scale advertising across multiple channels beyond Amazon PPC.00:10:30 Why You Must Be OmnichannelJason argues that Shopify brands should sell on Amazon to avoid losing customers who prefer to purchase there.00:14:01 Case Study: A Massive Meta Ad WinJason details a recent successful video ad campaign that scaled to thousands of orders in a single weekend.00:20:04 Navigating Meta's Andromeda UpdateA discussion on Meta's shift to creative-driven campaigns and the strategy of slicing avatars for better, more stable performance.00:23:34 Agency vs. In-House TeamsJason breaks down when to hire a freelancer, an agency, or build an in-house team for your marketing efforts.00:29:13 Why Most Marketing Agencies FailJason shares his experience with underperforming agencies and what brand owners should look for when hiring one.00:33:28 Building an In-House Team Alongside an AgencyThe importance of building an internal team to de-risk your business and test new offers before scaling with an agency.00:36:38 The Future of E-commerce and AIJason predicts AI will commoditize ad creation, making predictive modeling and data-driven rules the new competitive edge.00:41:42 AI as a Human AmplifierAI won't replace skilled marketers but will augment their abilities, allowing them to perform at a much higher level.00:44:43 Three Actionable TakeawaysThe host summarizes the episode's key lessons: fix your AOV, build in-house, and leverage AI with smart people.00:49:33 Jason's Final RecommendationsJason shares his most influential book, favorite AI tool (Claude Code), and a respected figure in the e-commerce space.Resources mentioned in this episode:Josh Hadley on LinkedIneComm Breakthrough ConsultingeComm Breakthrough PodcastEmail Josh Hadley: Josh@eCommBreakthrough.comTools and Websites"Amazon": "00:02:26""Shopify": "00:02:26""Meta (Facebook/Instagram Ads)": "00:02:56""Google Ads": "00:02:56""YouTube Ads": "00:02:56""TikTok": "00:06:23""PayPal": "00:11:49""Apple Pay": "00:11:49""Google Pay": "00:11:49""Shop Pay": "00:11:49""Claude Code": "00:50:05""Meta": "00:38:16"Books"The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber": "00:00:56""Cash Flow": "00:49:36"Videos"Video Ads": "00:14:01"Notable Mentions / People"Skyhouse (Jason Kutasi's performan...

As always with the three-legged stool of people, process, and technology, it's the tech that gets all the buzz while it's getting the other two legs right that really determine success or failure. Jo Lambadjieva, Founder and CEO of Amazing Wave and author of the AI in Ecommerce newsletter, invests all of her energy in helping ecommerce brands focus on enabling people to transform their processes using the right AI tooling for the job. She shares her advice 4 times a week with 70,000 newsletter readers and now, with all of you.

Catherine Hayden is the Chief Marketing Officer at Kate Farms, the #1 doctor-recommended plant-based nutrition brand. Since joining the company in 2018, she has helped scale Kate Farms through rapid growth, multiple funding rounds, and its acquisition by Danone, while building an omnichannel business spanning healthcare, direct-to-consumer, subscription, Amazon, and retail. Catherine began her career as a Registered Dietitian, giving her a unique perspective at the intersection of healthcare, nutrition, and consumer behavior. Today, she leads brand strategy, commercial growth, innovation, and integration across both healthcare and consumer channels. Kate Farms was founded to solve a deeply personal problem. After being diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age five, Kate struggled to tolerate existing nutrition formulas and relied on a feeding tube for nourishment. What began as a solution for one child has since grown into a company that has nourished more than 600,000 people. In this episode, Catherine shares how Kate Farms evolved from a healthcare-focused company into a high-growth Ecommerce and omnichannel brand, including lessons on building DTC alongside Amazon, uncovering customer insights that reshaped the business, and expanding awareness and access without sacrificing growth. In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:29] Intro [01:42] Serving customers across every life stage [02:02] Scaling impact from one success story [03:36] Validating demand before scaling [05:48] Episode Sponsor: Klaviyo [07:55] Learning complex channels through partnerships [10:36] Balancing trust with Ecommerce growth [12:32] Episode Sponsor: Intelligems [14:32] Using customer insights to guide strategy [17:40] Connecting brand awareness to conversions [19:13] Expanding reach while maintaining growth [22:13] Episode Sponsor: Electric Eye [23:20] Creating loyalty beyond product discounts [26:45] Winning customers through better products [27:17] Callout [27:27] Making great products easier to access Resources: Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube Plant-based tube feeding formulas and shakes katefarms.com/ Follow Catherine Hayden linkedin.com/in/catherine-hayden-28233816 Migrate and grow more klaviyo.com/honest  Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Brent Peterson sits down with Chet Silverman, aka Mr. eTail, the Director of Sponsorships at eTail. With 25 years in the e-commerce conference space, Chet shares stories from the early dot-com crash days, how he convinced Google to exhibit before they were a household name, and why conferences remain the best way to connect with retail executives in a post-COVID world. He also breaks down the current AI startup boom and predicts where the technology is heading.Chapters00:00 - Meet Mr. eTail: Chet's origin story and joining eTail after the dot-com bust01:05 - The evolution of e-commerce technology over 25 years01:59 - Cold-calling Google and convincing them to sponsor eTail Boston03:07 - The rise and fall of hot tech categories: CRM, mobile shopping, social commerce03:56 - Watching companies grow up at eTail, from startups to acquisitions05:12 - The AI explosion and why it will follow the mobile shopping pattern06:15 - Why companies should sponsor eTail and how COVID changed B2B sales07:23 - Quality vs. quantity: the 50/50 retailer-to-vendor ratio07:56 - Strategic timing: Palm Springs in February, Boston in August09:08 - eTail as a community and kicking off the e-commerce conference seasonKey TakeawayseTail maintains a rare 50/50 ratio of retailers to solution providersCOVID made conferences essential since decision-makers now work from homeAI will eventually become a standard feature from every retail tech vendor, not a standalone categoryeTail actively supports startups by offering free passes to help them enter the ecosystemPalm Springs kicks off the e-commerce season; Boston is the last stop before holiday lockdownGuest InfoChet Silverman - Director of Sponsorships, eTailKnown as Mr. eTail | 25 years in e-commerce eventsThis has been produced in cooperation with Content Cucumberhttps://www.contentcucumber.com/Follow Talk Commerce on your favorite platform:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talkcommerceBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/talkcommerce.bsky.socialApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-commerce/id1561204656Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Alx6N7ERrPEXIBb41FZ1nTwitter: @talkingcommerceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/talk-commerceFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkingcommerceWebsite: https://talk-commerce.com/

Join our mastermind community: https://www.skool.com/apparel-success-mastermindTry the best Ai design platform: https://www.design.com/rob88 Most clothing brands struggle on Instagram and TikTok because they constantly post products, promote their hoodies and chase immediate sales. In this video, I explain why this clothing brand marketing strategy kills your reach—and how to create content that attracts your target audience, grows a real community and eventually drives more sales.You'll learn the difference between content marketing and paid ads, why clothing brands need to lead with value, and how to use the 80/20 content strategy for your streetwear brand or fashion brand. After generating over $1 million in clothing brand sales and working with more than 500 brand owners, this is the social media strategy I believe more clothing brands need to understand.